Planes: Secrets Revealed
by steelefan
Summary: No one knew his past, he was a plane who had everything he could ever want. However, this doesn't mean he's had everything he needs, so now I ask: How much do you really know about the Prince of Propellers? The Green Tornado? or otherwise known simply as Ripslinger.
1. Chapter 1

J.F.K. International airport was quite the place to be at the moment; the airport was filled with thousands of cars and planes all cheering for the new winner of the Wings Around the Globe rally. This was in fact quite a big deal because the winner of this year's race was not expected at all and quite frankly, it was a close race to say the least. But no matter, the spectators were perfectly content with this new champion and the fact that he won really by pure luck. The reason for this? Well because no one expected the three time winner, racing Mustang Ripslinger, to lose to a simple crop duster.

Dusty Crophopper is his name; your basic run of the mill crop duster from the middle of nowhere. He's a small plane, with just one single prop, a rather cute orange and white paint job and less than a thousand horsepower, he's as simple as he can get, but none the less, he managed to outfly a purpose built P-51 racing Mustang in a race around the globe.

Upon crossing the finish line, Dusty was was the happiest he had ever been. When he landed and heard the the famous announcer Brent Mustangburger announce him the first ever crop duster to win the Wings Around the Globe rally, he nearly cried tears of joy.

As the crowd cheered and the other racers congratulated Dusty, another plane was currently being taken out of a pile of sludge that he had mistakenly landed in. This plane was none other than the captain of team RPX, Ripslinger, the three time WATG rally champion. After being overtaken by Dusty, Ripslinger was filled with rage, he had taken his mind off the race for a split second so that the crowd could get photos of him, and that decision allowed Dusty to take the lead in the race's final moments, letting the crop duster win. Ripslinger had never felt more embarrassed in his entire life. Not only had he lost, he lost to a crop duster, a plane who was never made to race; and now, Ripslinger had to be pulled from the sludge in which he landed himself after angrily chasing Dusty when he realized he'd lost his precious title of champion.

He didn't show it, in fact you would never even suspect it, but as Ripslinger was being put on a flatbed truck he was in pain, he was sad, and he felt lost. Ripslinger had an undefeated title in professional racing and before that, parents who unless he won something, wouldn't give him the time of day.

As he was being towed off after gaining the new nickname of "Ripstinker" he looked into the crowd of vehicles and spotted his parents who reluctantly showed up to see their son defend his title. When he spotted their faces, it took every fiber of his being to not burst into tears, because all he saw from these two planes was a look of hate, embarrassment, and disappointment; and he hated it.

Since Ripslinger was young, his family was rich; his father was the C.E.O. of the racing team he currently raced for, RPX. His mother on the other hand was the designer of his propeller, the Skyslicer MK 5, the most aerodynamic, lightweight, and advanced propeller ever made, and on top of his parents' being so successful, he was born into the astounded Baron family. Now while this seemed like the perfect family to be born into, nothing could be farther from the truth. Ripslinger's father, Thomas Baron, was nothing but a cheater and a liar who only wanted children for the status symbol. He hated having to actually care for his child, who to him was nothing but a brat. Then there was Ripslinger's mother, Reed Baron, she was an all business, no bullshit type of woman who never had time to do anything. After having her child, Reed simply did not have the time to cater to this young boy, so she would leave all responsibility on her husband. This lifestyle lead Ripslinger down a path that turned him into a vicious power hungry plane just so he could impress his parents, even just a little bit.

Ripslinger didn't have much time to look at his parents because as soon as there was an opening in the crowd, they quickly turned away and left the airport while the truck towed Ripslinger back to one of the hangars near the runway to be checked for any injuries. As he was unloaded and placed into a hangar, he was left alone while the madness of the airport was taken care of.

As the Mustang sat on his landing gear, favoring his right side, he saw a familiar face roll into the hangar, his manager Gary; a Cadillac CTSV with black and green paint similar to the plane's. Gary drove up to the Mustang's right side and looked Ripslinger in the eye.

"Rip, what happened out there? You were doing so well!" The Cadillac asked. His tone seemed to lack emotion of any kind.

"Gary, I… I don't know. This is a little too much to take in right now. Can I please have a little time alone?" Ripslinger asked in a low, defeated voice.

The Cadillac looked at the plane and sighed, he loved Ripslinger, he was a great racer and he did everything he was supposed to to win. "Kid, I'm not gonna lie to you, your folks… they're pretty ticked off right now. I'm gonna do what I can, but your dad might take you off your sponsorship."

Ripslinger gasped, he couldn't lose his sponsor! He needed them to make any sort of money out of this career and losing it could mean the end to his loved career.

"Gary… I… " Ripslinger tried to get the words out, but the threat of tears falling became way too strong, so he bit his bottom lip and shut his eyes.

Gary felt horrible, yes he knew Ripslinger could be a jerk, but he knew there was good in the kid somewhere and he would find a way to bring it out of him. The Cadillac put a tire to Ripslinger's right landing gear and patted gently.

"It's ok buddy, calm down. I'm gonna do what I can to fix this, for now, you sit here and rest, let me worry about this, I got your back." The Cadillac spoke with a faint smile.

Ripslinger nodded lightly and opened his eyes. Upon seeing this, Gary drove out of the hangar and left the Mustang to his thoughts.

On the other end of the field, Dusty was just now getting away from the massive crowd of cars and planes who wanted to talk to him. Currently, Dusty wanted to go talk privately with two close friends he had made along this journey, Ishani and El Chupacabra. While he was looking for them, he overheard Bulldog, a british racer, talking with another plane he didn't recognize, but he certainly recognized the plane they were discussing.

"Did you see him? He was almost in tears when they were hauling him off! I have never once seen that Mustang show any emotion other than anger." Bulldog stated with a hint of shock to his voice.

Hearing this, Dusty started to feel a hint of pity for the plane, he knew that he was a jerk and possibly wanted him dead, but he knew there had to be a reason he acted the way he did. With this in mind Dusty made his way over to the hangar where the Mustang was currently resting his sore body. Dusty very gently opened the door and rolled inside where he saw Ripslinger staring off into space with his usual stoic look.

"Hey." Dusty said with a smile on his face.

Ripslinger heard the voice and quickly looked at the small orange plane in front of him.

"What do you want Crophopper? I'm not in the mood for you right now!" Ripslinger said in his usual angry tone.

Dusty, expecting this answer, moved further into the hangar and allowed himself to sit in front of the large racing Mustang, slightly off to his left side, so that Ripslinger could more easily see him due to his long, upward pointing nose that could block his vision of what was directly in front of him.

"I figured as much, but look, I didn't come in here to rub anything in your face or start anything, I just wanted to say you put up a good fight, I hope to see you again soon, and I wish you luck for the future." Dusty stated in his usual happy tone.

Ripslinger glared at the smaller plane in front of him. He didn't want to seem soft and welcoming in front of his now biggest rival, he just wanted him to go away and let him think things over in his head.

"Okay thanks Crophopper, but I don't need luck, I'm Ripslinger! I'll be just fine." Ripslinger stated in an arrogant voice.

Dusty knew this was probably all he would get out of the large plane, so he turned around, and started to make his way out of the hangar, and said only one final thing before exiting completely.

"I know you don't like me, but the least you could do is show someone a little respect, especially someone who cares enough to make sure you're alright."

Ripslinger's eyes went wide. Dusty had given him attitude in the past, but it felt a lot different this time, almost like it wasn't said just to make the large plane angry but instead to give him something to think about. With this in mind, the Mustang didn't have enough time to say anything to Dusty, he could only watch him leave without another word spoken. Once again, Ripslinger was alone with his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few hours since Dusty had confronted the former champion, Ripslinger, in is hangar. Since storming out on the large plane, Dusty had been enjoying some time with his friends at J.F.K. airport before heading off back home. He had told Ishani, El Chu, Skipper, Dottie, and Chug about his little "conversation" with the plane and then asked his friends if they knew anything about this mysterious Mustang, and to his surprise, they all had the same answer: we don't know much.

Dusty now realized that Ripslinger was one of the most unknown planes he had ever met, which made no sense considering there was no plane more famous than him! This left Dusty confused; why and how could Ripslinger be so unknown to everyone? He was the most famous plane at the time and yet there was no information on the racer's background that would give any indication of how he grew up. At this point, all Dusty had to possibly prove even a small weak spot in the plane was a rumor that he almost cried while being carted off to a hangar to be alone.

By this time, it was around 9:30 at night and Dusty was alone in his team hangar trying to find anything else on this mysterious plane when he heard a small knock at the large metal door.

Dusty turned to the sound and wheeled over to the door to find probably the last ever thing he would ever find sitting outside his hangar: Ripslinger.

For a few moments, neither said a word, but right as Dusty was about to speak, Rip spoke up.

"Why did you come to my hangar before." Ripslinger asked in a monotone voice and half hooded eyes.

"I already told you, I wanted to wish you luck." Dusty answered flatly.

Ripslinger grunted, he knew there was more to this. Although racing was his expertise, he wasn't even close to being stupid.

"I'll ask you again." Ripslinger put his nose right up to Dusty's to intimidate him. "Why did you come to my hangar, Dusty."

Dusty felt a chill run down his body at his pronunciation of his name, it was just dripping with venom.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright, I overheard Bulldog talking and he made it seem like you were really upset about something." Dusty answered, his voice a little shaky.

Hearing this, Ripslinger growled slightly, causing his propellers to spin a little bit, then his voice took on a whole new level of venom. "You listen here farm boy and you listen closely: do not EVER concern yourself with my well being. We are not friends, we are not friendly rivals, I hate you, and you would do good from exhibiting the same feelings as I do. I don't ever want to hear about you digging up my past ever again, and if I do…" Ripslinger rotated his propellers quickly right in Dusty's face causing him to flinch. "You're going to find out the true definition of a skyslicer."

The angered Mustang turned to leave when Dusty spoke up once again.

"No wonder why you don't have any friends; the second someone even thinks about getting to know you, you threaten to kill them! Maybe you really are just a nasty plane right down to your core, there really is no nice person hidden in you."

Ripslinger stopped, turned around, and looked at Dusty with eyes that could cut through solid steel. Never before had Dusty ever seen this plane so ready to kill, but he didn't care, he wasn't going to let him bully him.

"What did you just say?" Ripslinger said through clenched teeth.

"You heard exactly what I said. What are you gonna do about it Rip? You gonna beat me up? Gonna try to teach me a lesson in talking back? It won't stop me Rip, and anything you do to me will only dig yourself a deeper grave." Dusty stated.

Ripslinger was once again in shock. He had never heard someone ever talk back to him after he nearly killed them. All he could do was stand there and stare at the small plane in front of him.

"Leave me alone Dusty. I don't want help, I just want to be left alone."

Ripslinger then started rolling away when Dusty spoke up once again.

"Or maybe all you need is someone who'll understand you, someone who can at least try to listen to what you have to say, everyone deserves to have their story told." Dusty spoke in the most sincere voice he could.

Ripslinger sighed and looked toward the racer. "You'll never understand what it's like to be me, life isn't just the fame and fortune, there's so much more than that."

That being said, Dusty watched as the green and black Mustang took off into the evening sky back toward wherever it is Ripslinger Baron came from.

"I'm gonna help you Rip, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Dusty and his team were packing up their belongings to head back home. It was a quiet morning, most of the other racers were staying in New York for a while for a vacation but not Dusty. Dusty loved racing and he loved the people he met along the way but to him, there was nothing like home.

While Dusty was doing one last check inside the hangar to make sure he or anyone else hadn't forgotten anything, someone came up behind him and spoke.

"Uh.. 'scuse me Dusty?"

Dusty jumped upon hearing someone talk right behind him and he quickly turned around to be face to face with a small white plane with the RPX logo written on him.

"Zed? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your team?" Dusty asked in a questioning tone.

"Well yeah but I wanted to make sure you're cool after the boss came here last night, he told us before he went home he wanted to talk with you about something and I know first hand how his chats usually go." Zed stated with a little smile.

Dusty smiled at the small plane. He was glad that maybe not everyone over at team RPX was a total jerk and that maybe, he could use that to his advantage.

"Well thank you for checking in. I'll be honest with you, it got pretty scary but I think I handled it just fine." Dusty stated happily.

Zed chuckled lightly. "Yeah the boss was never too good at just talking to any of us. He's really high strung like all the time man."

"Does he get nasty with you guys too?" Dusty asked curiously.

"Usually only with Ned and I, but the way he stormed out last night it seemed like he was going to get really angry when he saw you." The small white plane said in a tone that showed just a hint of concern.

"Well I won't lie and say he didn't, he was really pissed at me last night." Dusty said with a little bit of a chuckle.

Like Ripslinger, Zed was a lot smarter than he put on and he had a pretty good idea as to what Dusty wanted with the boss to begin with. Zed had once been very much like Dusty himself, and when he first got his job with Ripslinger, he had wondered the same things about the mysterious Mustang.

"Look Dusty, correct me if I'm wrong here, but you and I both know that plane has a lot of issues we don't know about, and like you, I wanna know what it is that makes him so pissed at the world too. But Dusty, he's unstable to say the least; he has issues with his parents that are such a touchy subject that the first hint he gets that the topic is being discussed, he nearly rips someone's propeller off." Zed said.

Dusty was in a bit of shock. Never before had he heard this plane talk this way or even talk this much! He would have never guessed that Zed felt the same way about Ripslinger that he did, so being the slightly nosey plane he was, he had to press on and find out whatever he could from the small plane.

"Zed I know this is probably crazy, but I do wanna help him. Is there any info you can give me to lead me down the right path? This is just bothering me a lot for some reason, and I can't sit back and let someone suffer when I know I can help." Dusty asked sincerely.

Zed sighed. He really understood where Dusty was coming from on this, and he too wanted to see Ripslinger get better and possibly even become a nice plane.

"Talk to Gary." Zed said.

"Who's Gary?" Dusty asked.

"Gary is our team's manager, right now, he's the closest person to Ripslinger and he's your best bet at finding something out." Zed stated in a low voice.

"Great! Where can I meet him?"

"You're in luck my friend, Gary was talking about you last night and he wanted to talk with you anyway, probably about racing stuff. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to discuss a little RPX sponsorship for you." Zed said with a friendly smirk.

"Sponsorship? I thought Ripslinger was team captain." Dusty asked confused.

"I don't know, this is what I heard. Would you be down for flying out to San Francisco? Like today?" Zed asked eagerly.

"Uh, sure I guess." Dusty said with a little hesitation.

"Alright cool, fly out to the airport and meet our team out there, I'll tell Gary you're out there and you could maybe bring up the issue then. Sound good?" The young racer asked.

"Yeah absolutely, I'll see you out there in a few hours I guess." Dusty said with a chuckle.

Zed smiled at Dusty and turned to leave; he said one last thing before exiting the hangar. "He's gonna be hard to crack Dusty, but I wish you luck with getting through to the boss."

With that Dust watched him take off towards California leaving himself on the tarmac staring off into space as he contemplated what he was about to do. Dusty was nervous about this, he was about to embark on a totally different mission than what he had planned to do. This was gonna be a big step for him to take, he was about to go attempt to help someone who not only doesn't want help, but hates him even more for trying.

With these thoughts in mind, Dusty explained the situation to his friends who reluctantly agreed to support him with. He then made his way over to the runway and took off in the direction of California with a goal set that seemed like an impossible feat. But then again, he did accomplish some amazing things recently; maybe he really could do this.


	4. Chapter 4

It was early in the morning by the time Dusty had reached California. He was exhausted to say the least; the last thing he expected was to be flying across the country just after the race. When he landed, he started to look around the field for any sign of the RPX team. Dusty had no clue if he had gotten there ahead of schedule or if he was late, so he just waited on the side next to the main run way where some cars were parked to watch the planes take off.

Dusty politely parked next to an SUV who was watching a 747 take off with what he guessed was their child, a little white coupe. Upon seeing the two, he lightly smiled; Dusty loved to see children get so excited to watch planes like himself. In fact, Dusty was so pleased to see the two, that he decided to spark up a conversation.

"Hello there, this your first time seeing the planes?" Dusty asked to the small coupe who was smiling as two more jets took flight.

The two automobiles looked at the plane who spoke to them, they smiled. "It is indeed her first time, isn't that right Carly?" the male SUV said.

"Yeah it is! I love watching the planes!" The young car said with so much happiness it made Dusty laugh.

"Well isn't that cool! Do you know who I am?" Dusty asked. He really hoped the child knew who he was from the race because as a young plane, Dusty had met some of his favorite air racers and he remembered how much he loved it.

"You're Dusty Crophopper!" The car squealed as she nuzzled his landing gear.

The small car's father then pulled her back gently and spoke. "You remember seeing Mr. Crophopper on the TV huh? Why don't you tell him how you felt when he won."

Dusty looked at the small car with a smile on his face; awaiting her reply.

"I thought it was so cool when you won! All my friends at school said it was stupid and that green plane was gonna win but when you won I got so happy!" The car declared with just the right amount of enthusiasm.

Dusty's heart melted, he loved kids, and this just made him feel great. "Well thank you for your support. Now you remember, no matter what anyone says, you can be anything you wanna be."

The car giggled and nuzzled the plane again. After she was contempt with her meeting, he bid the two goodbye and started searching again for Zed and the team.

As Dusty was looking around, a black and green Cadillac came up to him. "Dusty Crophopper?"

Dusty looked at the car. He had no clue who he was but he knew he needed to find the RPX team so he needed to make this meeting a little faster. "Yeah that's me, I hate to cut you short but I'm looking for a little white racing plane have you seen him?"

The car chuckled. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Gary, manager for team RPX."

Dusty felt so embarrassed. Now that he looked at the car, it was so obvious that he worked for RPX, the team logo was painted right on his side clear as day. "I'm so sorry sir, excuse my greeting."

"That's quite alright there. So Zed tells me you agreed to come see me today?" Gary asked with a smile on his bumper.

"Yes, he said you wanted to talk about something so here I am." Dusty chuckled a bit.

"Well thank you for coming. I wanted to chat with you about sponsorships. I don't remember seeing you have one and I was wondering if you would have interest in our team here." Gary asked as the two rolled over to a truck with RPX logos all over it.

"Well sir, isn't Ripslinger the captain of this team? Why would you take on more racers?" Dusty asked.

Dusty was beyond confused. Never once had he heard of a race sponsor taking on two racers who compete together, it just didn't make sense.

"RPX is trying to get their name out there as much as possible, and right now one racer to them is not enough. Basically what they want is for you to race under our colors on different circuits. While Rip races say a cross country race in America, you would take part in a race across Europe for example." Gary explained.

"I guess that makes sense, but it seems like a big commitment, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this type of life yet." Dusty said in a flat tone.

"I understand completely, it's a pretty big step in one's racing career. So here's my deal, hang with us for a week or so and see if you like how we run the team. If you like it, we can talk to the bosses, if not, no harm done, I get paid either way." Gary laughed.

Dusty laughed along with Gary. this was a pretty good idea, if he liked what he saw, he would be able to keep taking part in races, and if he didn't he could go right back to whatever he wanted to do.

"Alright Gary, I'll take you up on that deal. But I have one question: what is Ripslinger gonna think about all this? He already doesn't like me." Dusty asked.

"Don't worry about it, right now, he's at his own house in L.A. and when he gets back, I'll talk with him." Gary said in a confident tone.

Dusty decided that this was probably a good chance to ask about the mysterious racer. "He's not here with you guys? Is he alright?"

"In all honesty Dusty he's a bit shaken up by all this, but I'm sure he'll be alright." Gary answered.

Dusty wanted to pry a little more, he felt that this was an answer that the Cadillac had worked on before and that there was so much more than just being shaken up about losing a race.

"I heard other racers talking before I left New York that he seemed to almost be crying after he was carted away, and when he had come to talk to me that night, it was obvious there was more going on." Dusty said in a direct tone.

The cadillac then stopped and looked at the plane; he spoke in a very stern voice. "He spoke to you?"

"Yeah, he came to my hangar around 9:30." Dusty answered.

Gary looked around to make sure there was no one in earshot of him, then spoke. "Fisherman's Wharf, meet me there for dinner tonight at 5:30, It isn't a good idea to talk about this here."

Dusty nodded to the car who smiled in return and brought him over to the rest of the team. The rest of the RPX team was very friendly and they all congratulated him on his win. As he was being introduced to the other members of the team, Gary took Dusty aside and gave him the details of the hotel they had arranged for him to stay in along with reminding him about dinner. Dusty promised Gary he would be at the wharf on time and that he was going to spend some time relaxing at the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Dusty made himself comfortable in the room he was given. The hotel itself was just across the street from the official RPX headquarters and was very luxurious, it was obvious that money was not an issue for the team.

As Dusty was doing some research on his Sky Pad X, that he had just bought, a message notification popped up on the screen.

"Read this." was all the message said, along with a photo of the screen from another Sky Pad, which he recognized as Ripslinger's from the crack in the screen which he saw during the race.

As he started reading, he realized that this was the note app on his tablet and that it appeared to be a journal like thing.

"March 11th, 2013.

My parents did it again. They promised they would come watch me practice for this year's Wings Around the Globe Rally and of course they didn't show up. I don't understand it, they push me to race for their company and yet they don't even wanna watch me practice for it, like all I am to them is their goddamn puppet!"

The entry was short yes, but it was certainly something that alluded to a lot of things going on in Ripslinger's life. After reading it through a couple of times, Dusty decided to FlyTime the person who sent him the message.

The tablet rang a couple of times before someone picked up, Dusty was not surprised who it was. "Zed? How did you get this?"

"I took the picture a while ago, he had asked me to get it for him and I wanted to be annoying and take a selfie on it, when I realized it didn't have a passcode I unlocked it and it was open to that, so before I gave it to him I took a photo of the screen with my own tablet. I would've gotten more but I didn't wanna seem suspicious so this is all I got." Zed explained in a hushed tone.

"Wow, you really did wanna get to the bottom of this." Dusty said a little surprised.

"You know it, look I gotta go. Rip left his tablet here actually and I told him I would give it to him next time I saw him, in the meantime, I'm gonna see if I can figure out the passcode, he got smart and put one on it but as soon as I get it, I'll send you whatever I can." Zed stated showing the Sky Pad to the camera on his own tablet.

"Thank you Zed, I'll talk to you later."

"Have a good one tonight with Gary."

"Thanks."

Dusty hung up and looked at the photo again. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and he was starting to figure out how he might do that.


	5. Chapter 5

Dusty looked up at the clock next to the television. The time read 4:53 PM, it was almost time to leave. Dusty put away his Sky Pad and headed out the front of the building and started to make his way to the San Francisco waterfront.

By the time the orange plane got to the Fisherman's Wharf, it was about 5:20, he was just a bit early. While he waited for Gary outside, he started to think about what he should ask the Cadillac, and if he should bring up the arrangement he and Zed had. Dusty knew that what Zed was doing was seriously risky; Ripslinger would definitely have his tail if he ever found out that he had leaked him information.

The biggest thing Dusty was thinking about though was how would he ever bring any of this up with Ripslinger himself? There was no way he could simply talk to him, he had already tried that and Ripslinger would have none of it. The best Dusty could hope for right now was to find out the right info that might give him a small window of opportunity to talk to the green Mustang.

At 5:35 PM Dusty saw Gary make his way over to him, he appeared to be rushing a bit.

"Sorry if I'm late, I was on the phone with Ripslinger." Gary said just a little short of breath.

"Hey it's fine, you're only five minutes late it's no big deal." Dusty said with a smile.

"Are you kidding!? Time is of the essence! If you aren't early you're late, that's what I always say." Gary stated in a matter of fact tone.

Dusty looked at the Cadillac, he definitely had quite the attendance policy. "So is Rip alright?"

"Oh he's fine. I needed to talk to him because when he crash landed at the race he damaged his left landing gear a bit and I just needed to make sure he was doing what he needed to make sure it heals, he's gotta be in tip top shape for racing!" Gary stated.

Dusty thought to himself for a moment. Ripslinger seemed perfectly fine last time he had seen him. Either he was more hurt than he was putting on or Gary was a bit overly protective of that sort of thing, whatever the reason though, his thoughts were interrupted by Gary pointing out an empty table and leading him over to it.

Once they were comfortable and had drinks in front of them, Dusty initiated the conversation. "So Gary, you seemed really nervous about something this morning when I told you Rip came to see me."

The Cadillac looked up at the plane and chuckled softly. "Yeah, I didn't want anyone to overhear what you might've said, Ripslinger is a touchy subject among us."

"But why though? Why is it that whenever he comes up it seems like everyone is afraid of the conversation?" Dusty asked. He was so confused, why is it that you could hardly breath the Mustang's name without sparking controversy?

"Dusty, I stopped the conversation earlier because I specifically told Ripslinger to leave all of this behind and just go home for now, I didn't want him interacting with anyone, even the racers after that defeat. You have to understand that there's a lot going on right now." Gary stated.

"Gary, forgive me but why are you being so secretive about him? What aren't you telling me here? If you want me on this team you need to fill me in on these things. I'm not trying to be this plane's enemy, he was clearly upset about something when he came to my hangar and I don't see what the problem is with trying to help him." Dusty said in a slightly agitated tone.

"Ripslinger needs to listen to me more and you need to understand that he needs to be left alone, his parents cause drama here, the career itself causes drama, and he's the most famous plane to ever race! It's a lot of stress that you haven't been exposed to yet and you would do good with leaving that plane alone about his personal life." Gary said, looking at Dusty with a glare.

Dusty was getting sick of this. Gary was acting like Ripslinger is nothing but an object who needs to bottle his emotions up and focus only on racing. Gary made it very obvious that he didn't like people getting close to Ripslinger, and that made Dusty's fuel boil.

"Then what exactly am I here for then Gary? Why are we here at this place? Why did there need to be a secret meeting?" Dusty asked in an irritated tone.

"You're here because I'm going to tell you what you need to know about us." Gary said in a low dangerous tone.

"I'm listening." Dusty said blankly.

"Ripslinger has had a difficult life that he does not need to be talking about with everyone. He is a purpose built racing Mustang and I intend to keep it that way. If he looks you in the eye, look down. If he wants to talk to you, he will talk to you, but never about himself. This is how it works here at team RPX and we will not be changing that anytime soon, got it?" Gary said with a growl at the end.

"I get it." Dusty said.

With that, the two left and did not speak another word to each other. Dusty was so angry now: how could someone encourage this plane to stay cold and lifeless? Why would someone want that? Then Dusty started to remember some things that Gary had said: "I get paid either way" "He's a purpose built racing Mustang and I intend to keep it that way" "He's gotta be in tip top shape for racing" and "time is of the essence". Dusty now understood completely: Gary was in this for the money and the money only. He never cared if Ripslinger was truly alright or not, all he cared about was how much the plane could make to himself more wealthy. Dusty realized that going forward with this was going to be tough, but now he knew it needed to be done.

When Dusty got back to his hotel, he messaged Zed to come to his hotel room, that it was important and they needed to talk. Zed agreed and soon there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Zed." Dusty said with a smile.

"Sup man? What's the emergency?" Zed asked as he entered and shut the door behind him.

"It's Gary, he's insane and there is no way he's gonna help us." Dusty proclaimed with a hint of anger.

Zed chuckled lightly. "Took you this long to figure it out huh? That bastard has been after Ripslinger's fortune since day one."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?!" Dusty said in an annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry I didn't but I figured that maybe you would get him mad enough to say something; slip up a bit." Zed said.

"Why would you need me to do that? Why not you?" Dusty asked.

"I work for him, I can't piss him off, he'd fire me on the spot. You don't work for him, you don't have a job to protect here, you can be argumentative with the bastard without consequences." Zed stated in his matter of fact tone.

Zed really was smart. He knew that Dusty would fight with Gary and get him mad enough to say something he wasn't supposed to. Not to mention no one would really lose out, Dusty would get his information, and Zed keeps his job and helps Dusty help his friend.

"That's actually a pretty good plan." Dusty said in a slightly amazed voice.

"Thank you, everyone gets really surprised when they see I actually do have a brain." Zed said with a laugh.

Dusty chuckled back and proceeded to tell Zed what he and Gary spoke about. He explained that Gary had told him that his parents caused a lot of anxiety for Ripslinger and that he would do good without people trying to get close emotionally with the Mustang.

"Figures as much, Thomas and Reed are pretty power hungry people. When you see them with Ripslinger you can see the dread on their faces that they actually have to be seen with him. When you talk to them, it's like talking to a wall, they put on fake smiles and act like they are the most perfect people to ever exist, you'll hate it." Zed said with a roll of his eyes.

"Listen Zed, we gotta do something, we aren't getting anywhere with these people." Dusty said.

"Then it leaves us with only one option left." Zed said with a smirk.

"Which is?" Dusty asked curiously.

"Time to talk to the Green Tornado himself."


	6. Chapter 6

Dusty was quite taken aback by Zed's little proposal here. It just didn't seem natural to call someone like Ripslinger. But it didn't matter what he thought of this plan, Zed was already sitting there with the FlyTime app open and calling. He did find it amusing though that Ripslinger's name in Zed's tablet was "Rippy Boy".

While they waited for him to pick up, Zed looked at Dusty and spoke. "For right now let me talk to him, I'll be able to tell if he's in a talking mood or not."

Dusty nodded and finally there was an answer; he gulped.

"Can I help you Zed? I'm fucking wiped out." Ripslinger stated.

Dusty looked at the screen so he could see Ripslinger but was careful to not be in the camera, he knew shit would hit the fan if Ripslinger saw him. It was funny though, Ripslinger was sitting on his bed, landing gear folded in like he was flying, and in the background you could see some stuffed animals that he had in the back. Dusty had never seen Ripslinger like that, it just all seemed so different.

"What don't like friends checkin' in on you?" Zed said with a giggle.

Ripslinger laughed a bit and to Dusty's surprise, he was smiling. "Yeah yeah yeah, thank you though, I'm feeling fine, Gary is freaking the hell out cuz he thinks I broke my landing gear which is annoying."

"That's Gary for ya, what would we ever be without him." Zed stated with a laugh.

Dusty was starting to get really confused. He never heard Ripslinger talk friendly to anyone, not even Zed, was that all just an act? Did Ripslinger only act nasty to them? He needed to just keep listening and see where this was going.

"Zed you still have my Sky Pad right?" Ripslinger asked.

"Of course, I have it in my room I'll give it to you next time I see you." Zed said.

"Good, I tried asking Gary if he would be so kind as to have someone bring to me or mail it or something but he was too busy yapping and rushing out the door. Did you hear that him and my parents are trying to make a deal with that fucking crop duster? They really do wanna replace me don't they?" Ripslinger stated in a saddened tone.

"Yeah I know, I've been talking with the farmer a bit actually, he's really nice Rip." Zed stated.

"Yeah well he gets on my nerves, he's always trying to talk to me about feelings and shit I don't care about, dude needs a life." Ripslinger said with a chuckle.

Dusty felt pretty hurt by that statement. He just wanted to help but instead it seemed like his efforts didn't even cause Ripslinger to think, it just gave him something else to laugh at.

"You know Rip he seems to really care about you though, I'd say that's pretty cool." Zed said in his "why not?" tone.

Ripslinger sighed a little. "I know he does, he's a nice guy but I can't have that around me, it takes away from my work."

Dusty finally got it, he knew exactly what he needed to do now. Ripslinger just needed to be taught that it's okay to feel his emotions, and this made Dusty silently smile as he listened to their conversation go on.

"Rip, it's not a bad thing to slow down a little and just talk to someone. You're life isn't just racing." Zed said with a smile.

"You're trying to get me to talk to him, and that's annoying enough in itself. But you know what? Go put him on, I'll appease the both of you a little bit." Ripslinger said with a sideways smirk.

"No. I'm not gonna go find him that's stupid, if you wanna appease me, let's talk in person, where you have to listen a little bit." Zed said flatly.

"Why are we even talking about this Zed? Didn't Gary already make it clear that I don't like being distracted?" Ripslinger said slightly annoyed.

"Well the race hit us all hard, you the most, I can't help but worry about you Rip, you're my friend and whether or not you like it I care about you." Zed said, narrowing his eyes at the camera.

"You have no idea what that race did to me, and you don't need to know." Ripslinger said in fast, angry tone.

"Don't make me fly out there Rip, I don't want to piss you off but this is getting annoying for us too." Zed shot out.

"I seem to recall you saying you wanted to talk in person? Well then I'll just have to hold that little detail over your head now. Come get me if you want me so much." Ripslinger said in a sarcastic voice.

"You have to come back for work eventually." Zed said quickly.

"Watch me." Ripslinger then hung up the call, leaving Zed and Dusty to think about what just happened.

Dusty was confused yet again, Ripslinger just went through so many emotions in the span of about twelve minutes. He looked over at Zed who was looking down at the black screen of his tablet.

"Time to go to L.A." Zed stated as he gathered up his tablet and charger and looked at Dusty. "Coming?"

"Is this really the right time? He seemed really angry." Dusty said.

"Look, no one knows his full story, but from what everyone does know, I know him best. What you just heard was a dare, he doesn't think you and I will go out there, him and I have been having similar arguments like this for years. He wants us to come." Zed stated in his most serious voice.

"Alright, I trust you." Dusty said as he got his own stuff.

"Great, let's go." Zed said as he made his way toward the door.

"Shouldn't you tell Ned you're going?"

"No, he doesn't care about Rip, he doesn't care about much other than himself, he's just like all of them." Zed stated in a flat voice.

With that the two aircraft made their way out and were soon in the air for the short flight to Los Angeles, the trip that could change everything.


	7. Chapter 7

Dusty and Zed made it LAX without much trouble and as soon as they landed, Zed bolted to the exit. He was eager to say the least, he knew that this time, he just might be able to get through to his friend and right now, nothing else in the world mattered.

It didn't take them long to arrive at Ripslinger's house, which was set in the Hollywood Hills and to Dusty's surprise, it was quite old and victorian looking. In fact, he seemed to live on a block where the houses were all very old, which made sense considering it was toward the base of the Hollywood hills instead of up towards the top where all the new super expensive houses were.

Rolling up to the door, Zed turned to Dusty. "When he answers the door, let me talk, no matter what he says, stay quiet."

Dusty gave him a nod to show he understood and with that, he rang the doorbell and waited for Ripslinger to answer. This did not take long either, soon the door opened and there was Ripslinger standing there with a glare on his face.

"So you actually showed this time, I'm impressed." Ripslinger said with a smirk.

He then shifted his eyes to Dusty who was very nervously standing behind a very confident looking Zed. "And you brought the farmer too, come to take care of my lawn?"

Dusty didn't respond, he just sat there and waited for Zed to make a move.

"So what now Rip? I did exactly what you wanted, what you always wanted me to do, I came here. You're so used to us having these arguments that you knew I wouldn't come this time, right? Well now I'm here." Zed said confidently.

Ripslinger's gaze softened a bit and he stepped aside to allow them to come into his house. Both planes made their way inside and as Dusty passed Ripslinger, he jumped at him and screamed boo in hopes of scaring him. It worked of course and Dusty jumped a little causing Ripslinger to chuckle.

Once inside, Ripslinger shut the door and looked at the two planes in front of him. His face showed nothing but confidence but inside, he was scared of what they might say, he really just wanted this whole situation to just go away.

Zed broke the ice and slid Ripslinger his Sky Pad to which he stopped with his landing gear. "Ok so you came all the way here to deliver this? Thanks guys, you make good messengers."

Neither plane spoke, they just stood there, letting Ripslinger guide the conversation. "C'mon you two, you're the ones who wanted to talk so talk!"

Dusty and Zed liked where this was going, they wanted to see what Ripslinger would do under nothing but pressure, and it was clear that Ripslinger was getting uncomfortable.

The mustang snorted and then moved right in front of Dusty who he felt would be a lot more intimidated by him. "C'mon Dusty, talk to me. Aren't we friends?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm and venom.

"Getting uncomfortable Rippy?" Dusty finally spoke.

"Excuse me?" Ripslinger stated.

"You're tapping your landing gear, you don't seem to be enjoying this very much." Dusty said with a smirk.

Ripslinger then noted that he was indeed tapping his tires on the tile floor and quickly stopped. "I don't get it, you guys wanted to talk so much and now you're acting like this wasn't your idea."

Once again sillence. The two planes just wanted to hear what Ripslinger was gonna do, they felt that they could break him down if they simply made him uncomfortable. It was working, finally Ripslinger got frustrated enough and decided to spark a pleasant conversation with Zed.

"Well to continue our chat from earlier, I'm still doing just fine as you can see, and really there's nothing left to talk about, I'm quite a boring Mustang at home." Ripslinger said with a grin.

"Rip I have a question: why did you come to my hangar after you were told not to? Gary told me he didn't want you going around talking with the other racers." Dusty said.

"Why do you think? You were so desperate to see how I was to begin with that I figured a little intimidation couldn't hurt right?" Ripslinger said with a smile and a quick revolution of his propellers.

Now it was Dusty's turn to do what Ripslinger had done to him back in New York. he rolled right into Ripslinger's face and made their nose cone's touch. "Now let's hear the real reason Rip. Why did you come to me after being told not to?" Dusty said with as much venom in his voice as he could.

Ripslinger was taken aback by this and was actually very nervous right now. He was starting to worry that he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.

"I told you already." Ripslinger said, this time, much more quietly and nervously.

"C'mon Ripslinger you and I both know the real reason why you came to me, this is your last chance to just say it." Dusty said, pushing against his nose cone.

"To teach you a lesson." Ripslinger said. He was hardly able to get the words out and he was seconds away from tears falling.

Zed could only watch in amazement as his boss was broken down and he was getting very nervous but he knew it needed to come to this, this was important.

"Was it that Rip? Or was it because you were scared." Dusty said sternly, narrowing his eyes.

Ripslinger was now very slowly backing up but Dusty made sure their noses kept contact

"Just stop it." Ripslinger squeaked.

"You were scared Rip, you were scared that the world would hate you, scared that you'd lose everything you worked so hard for." Dusty kept it going, he knew he was getting to the Mustang, he wasn't about to lose it.

Ripslinger was now noticeably shaking and then finally his tail touched the wall, he was trapped.

"Please stop…" Ripslinger could hardly hold back the tears.

"You were scared that your parents, who never once showed you the love a son needs, would finally get rid of you completely, and destroy every hope you ever had of making them genuinely proud of you." Dusty said sternly.

That did it. Ripslinger finally gave in to his emotions and tears started pouring out of his eyes. For the first time since he was young, he let himself feel every emotion he bottled up, he let all his frustration, pain, and hope just pour out of him as tears.

Zed was speechless, here he was, Ripslinger, the baddest plane you could ever meet was crying uncontrollably. He could only watch as finally, Ripslinger had let someone get to him, and he was so happy it finally happened.

Dusty sat there and watched this poor plane shake while he cried uncontrollably, just begging for the one thing he had been deprived of since birth: love. At this point, Dusty couldn't just stand there and watch this, especially when Ripslinger literally collapsed under his landing gear as the emotions were all just too much to take.

As he cried on his floor, unable to get back onto his landing gear, he felt the gentle touch of Dusty's nose cone touch his fuselage. He didn't know what to think of this, it felt like he was gonna explode from all these emotions, but soon, he heard Dusty whisper to him.

"But you know what Rip? The worst of all of this is that you kept trying to make them like you, you kept trying to impress them, and that's their fault. They had no right to have a son, they didn't deserve you. What you need Ripslinger, is love, and there's nothing wrong with that. You are not just a racing plane, you're Ripslinger, you are your own plane, and the moment you let yourself understand that, the happier you'll be." Dusty spoke in the most sincere and loving voice he could.

"I… don't… I don't … wanna keep doing this…. I just want someone to…. Someone to like me…" Ripslinger choked out through tears.

Dusty lightly rubbed the top of Ripslinger's fuselage with his nose cone and spoke in a loving voice, "I like you Ripslinger, I like you for you. You're more than just a racing plane to me, you were my inspiration to pursue racing, you're…. My hero."

Ripslinger stood up quickly with tears running down his face. "I'm your… hero? After…. Everything I did… you still… like me?"

Dusty nodded to the Mustang and smiled. The next thing he knew, he was being trampled as this plane embraced him and wept onto his wing.

"I'm so sorry Dusty… for everything…." Ripslinger said in his most sincere voice.

"Ripslinger, it's time for you to take a break from all this, you're too good to be surrounded by people who don't know how to appreciate you for who you are." Dusty said as he let the huge plane cry on him.

Ripslinger nodded and kept holding onto the small racer, he didn't want this feeling to end. He finally knew what it felt like to be loved, and he just wanted it to stay this way forever.

Dusty sat there and held the Mustang close to him, he knew this was the first time he had ever let himself be loved, and he wanted him to keep that feeling for as long as he wanted.

The two planes kept their hold on each other for quite a while before Ripslinger pulled away and went through the whole hugging process again with Zed who appreciated the feeling more than he could ever imagine. After Ripslinger was content, he looked at both planes and smiled, his eyes still puffy and tear stains still on his face.

"I guess it's time I tell you my story, for real this time."


	8. Chapter 8

Dusty and Zed stood in front of the large green and black Mustang with eager looks on their faces. Finally, the two of them had been able to break through to the plane who seemed like he had no emotions. They knew this would be hard, he had just decided he would tell them why he was the he is; the answer to a question that remained unanswered for so long, was now finally about to be revealed.

Ripslinger looked at the two eager planes. He knew that if there was anyone who would understand him, it would be these two. He knew Zed would listen because he always tried to get Ripslinger to talk to him, about anything, he just wanted him to open up just a little. Dusty made it all too clear that he needed answers, he literally would not leave the subject alone. He no longer hated dusty for it though; Ripslinger knew that as annoying as it could be, it really was important to just talk to someone, you have to let at least one person get close to you or you'll never be happy. With these thoughts in mind, Ripslinger sighed and began.

"Before I was even born, any chance of a loving family was broken. You see, my father… isn't my real father... " Ripslinger stated with eyes tightly closed.

Dusty moved forward just a little bit and kept direct eye contact with the Mustang, he needed him to know that it was alright to keep talking.

With a sniffle, Ripslinger opened his eyes again and continued in a low, shaky voice. "My mother was raped, and that's how she had me. Her family was all against abortions so she was forced to have me and care for me. After I was born, my now father wasn't happy at all, he already hated me because I was the product of rape and he felt that made me imperfect."

Zed stood right behind Dusty and listened closely to every word. This affected the small plane very much, his own father had left his mother because he and Ned were the product of an affair gone wrong. After he and his brother were born, his mother did everything she could to care for them on her own, and she only got more depressed as the guilt of her affair, and the lack of being able to provide for her children grew stronger and stronger.

"I don't know why they decided to keep me though, I could never figure that part out. All I know is that since as far back as I can remember, my mother was never around, and if I wasn't being watched by maids and other people who had no interest in children, I was forced to go with my father everywhere. He would drag me to work with him and force me to stay in a corner where I had to sit quietly and do nothing for hours on end, playing with other kids was completely out of the question." Ripslinger said with tears slowly rolling down his fuselage.

At this point Ripslinger was starting to get emotional and Dusty wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this going before he broke down again in tears. He touched his nose cone to Ripslinger's gently and he felt the larger plane relax just a little, and he continued talking.

"When my parents realized I could be used for racing, I saw that they would get excited to see me win, and as a child I thought that meant they finally loved me. The more I raced, I would start getting praise and it was a good alternative from what I had before, so I started getting defensive. Anyone who challenged my ability to race was beaten senseless because I felt it was the only way I could get some love from my parents. As I got older, I started realizing that it wasn't actual love, and that's about the time Gary came into my life. Gary made sure I suppressed all emotions and focused only on my racing career. He convinced me it was better to keep emotions down and focus on the prize, so that's what I did. For years, I refused to let anyone get close, I locked myself away and made sure no one could get me." Ripslinger was now starting to breath heavier and he started sob again.

At this point Zed joined Dusty with comforting the large plane. He knew that Ripslinger was an extremely deprived plane although he was rich beyond belief.

"Boss, I get it. We all have some sort of story where we think we were so unloved and treated so badly, but that's not true. Most people don't know how lucky they are to have loving parents, all they look at is what they don't have. You Ripslinger, have had the opposite, your parents were ungrateful bastards who thought money and power were more important. I'm saying all this to you because I don't want you to feel like just because you're rich and famous doesn't mean your story is any less important, money is nothing, love is everything. I don't ever want you to feel like you're whining or coming off as ungrateful for telling people what you've been through. Zed said.

Zed was very emotional himself after saying all that. He felt so strongly about the words he spoke that it caused him to cry. It made him angry that people with money were considered to be just happy people without problems just because they could buy anything they wanted to.

Dusty also felt very strongly about what Zed had said, and he couldn't agree more with him. Dusty refused to let Ripslinger go at this point, he made no movements as his nose cone continued to touch the Mustang's. He knew he needed this, he needed the feeling of love more than anyone he had ever met, he had been so deprived of such a simple act that it caused him to become this monster.

Ripslinger started to calm down after about ten minutes of crying after he spoke. As he pulled away from the two planes, he was still shaking and his flaps were still tense, but he was breathing much lighter now and he was able to give the pair a little smile without getting watery eyed.

"Do you feel better Rip?" Dusty asked with a smile.

Ripslinger nodded to him and blinked the tears from his eyes. "Yeah. yeah Dusty I do. Thank you so much for caring. Thank you for being so persistant, thank you for not hating me, and thank you for being inspired by me. Dusty I'm so sorry I acted the way I did with you. I was your hero, the one who inspired you to race, and I bullied you to no end."

Dusty smiled at the plane and playfully tapped their nose cones together. "It's all in the past Rip, we're friends now."

Ripslinger smiled at Dusty and then looked at Zed. "You deserve an apology too. Out of you and your brother you were always the most kind and friendly plane, and all we did was bully you cuz of the dumb things you would say. You deserve a lot better and if you'll let me, I would like to make it up to."

Zed smiled and embraced the large Mustang. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't plan on giving you another chance."

Ripslinger laughed and held his friend close to him. "You're such a cool dude."

"I'm alright I guess." Zed said with a laugh.

Ripslinger once again pulled away and then looked very seriously to his two friends. "I don't wanna keep doing this."

"We don't blame you, I'm sure plenty of other teams would want to sponsor you though." Dusty said with a smile.

"No Dusty, I don't mean it like that." Ripslinger said with a serious tone.

"Then what are you talking about?" Zed asked.

"I don't wanna race anymore."


End file.
